The idea
The Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project (TVWMRP) is a community-driven initiative that aims to connect up the fragments of ancient floodplain wildflower meadow along the Thames (of which only 4 square miles remain in the UK) by restoring or re-creating the intervening meadows. In the last 7 years we have connected 210 hectares of ancient and restored meadow on the Thames around Eynsham. We have taken on 100 acres of meadow, and associated habitat, for direct community restoration. In Sept 2025, we will acquire a 10 acre monoculture willow coppice to restore as wet woodland: another rare habitat, including planting native black poplar - only a few 1000s remain . In Jan 2025, we planted 1km of hedge with over 100 people from 5 to 85. We plan to plant another 1 km next winter. We have successfully trialled a zero miles seed compost using woodchip from our own willows. Now we want to trial a zero miles potting compost. Our work with a diverse range of people is growing.
What we'll deliver
- Hand-propagate about 6000 of the rarest wildflower plants in the UK every year for planting out in newly created meadows
- Run twice weekly meadow restoration sessions throughout the year for the whole community
- Teach plant-propagation skills to vulnerable adults, people with mental and physical health challenges, students etc.
- Community planting of hand-propagated plants to help restore 70 acres of meadow leased by the community
- Plant and mulch 1km of hedge with the whole community in winter 25/26
- Use willow coppice to create zero miles mulch & substrate with the new wood chipper
- Use hot composter to reduce the time needed to create our own zero miles compost
- Provide a meaningful and enjoyable activities for our social farming participants
- Eliminate the need to move heavy tools and equipment by hand with new quad bike & trailer
- More inclusivity for all members of the network regardless of their physical capacities
Why it's a great idea
Our landscape-scale nature recovery project is unique in being led by expert members living in the local community, rather than parachuted in from an outside NGO. We show that this provides a rare sustainability, since they are engaged for the long term. It means that our activities benefit nature as well as people. Our decentralised network means we scale up in a way that most community nature recovery efforts can’t. The hot composter and wood chipper would enable us to produce our own mulch and potting compost; which has proven superior to commercial alternatives in propagating rare meadow plant species. The electric quad bike will allow us to efficiently transport equipment across the floodplain terrain. Our project proves that action for nature improves mental health and social cohesion and brings the most isolated people into the heart of the community. It provides a safe learning environment from learning to put soil into a pot to scientific research into a rare ecosystem.
Steps to get it done
- Purchasing the hot composter
- Purchasing the woodchipper
- Purchasing the lightweight electric quad bike
- Use wood chipper for clearing new willow coppice providing mulch for hedges and space for new planting
- Use hot composter to create high quality tailored zero miles meadow compost
- Use quad bike to transport equipment and people during weekly volunteering events
- Use compost created to grow 6000 rare meadow plants for community meadow restoration
- Use willow woodchip created to mulch 1km of new community-planted hedge in winter 25/26 and 2.6km of hedge planted
- Provide meaningful and enjoyable activities for social farming participants, as proven by our partners at FarmAbility.
- Enable very young, the elderly and those with physical constraints to join us in even the furthest flung meadows
